Kabul Says Taliban Not Prepared To Talk Peace In Doha

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) The Taliban do not appear to be ready to discuss peace, so the Kabul delegation in Doha is currently engaged in talks with foreign partners, State Ministry for Peace Spokeswoman Najia Anwari said.

"The delegation from the Islamic Republic is waiting in Doha to hold peace talks, but the Taliban are not coming to the table to discuss peace," Anwari said in a video clip sent to media.

The Afghan delegation is currently holding discussions in Doha with foreign stakeholders, she noted.

The presidential office, meanwhile, also blamed the radical movement for showing no will for peace and highlighted its own efforts toward ending the decades-long war.

"The Afghan government called a ceasefire first and if the Taliban call a ceasefire again, the government will also call a ceasefire. The government had released 5,500 prisoners, made a peace high council, sent a negotiation delegation to Doha but Taliban didn't show anything or didn't do anything," Waheed Omer, General Director of the President's Office of Public and Strategic Affairs, said.

Afghans are, meanwhile, getting increasingly frustrated with their dashed hopes for peace, an Afghan women's rights activist told Sputnik.

"We expected a ceasefire or an end to the war with the start of peace talks, but current reports are disappointing that the Taliban are not coming to the talks," Shabana Ahmadi, a women's rights activist, told Sputnik.

The Kabul-Taliban peace talks kicked off in Doha in September, but have so far failed to put an end to the confrontation on the ground. On the contrary, Afghanistan has witnessed a spate of bomb attacks and clashes, with the military continuing to regularly report on its special operations against Taliban operatives, who are now said to control three-fourths of Afghan land.

The Joe Biden administration's ongoing review of the Trump-era deal with the Islamist movement has added uncertainty to the peace process.